Blog/News

Adopt A Class – Community Involvement

Through a partnership with Adopt A Class, Miller-Valentine Group is working with Ms. Maglecic’s 5th grade students at Norwood View Elementary. The mission of Adopt a Class is to connect inner-city youth and local businesses through mentorship.

Miller-Valentine Group has taken a pro-active role in the task, electing to replace classroom lectures with hands-on experience to truly engage the students in all stages of construction. The Miller-Valentine Construction team felt that monthly classroom presentations about their jobs would make an impression, but practical experience involving planning, budgeting, scheduling, and execution would make a long lasting impact on the students.

To that end, meetings were held with the 5th graders to identify the major concerns of the students:

– No shaded area on the playground
– Absence of identified areas to play football, kickball, and basketball
– No water fountain, resulting in lost recess time going back to school for a drink
– Cracking and peeling paint in the courtyard and the tunnel

With the scope of work identified, the playground improvement project, named “Warriors in Motion” by the students, was implemented. Volunteers from Miller-Valentine have worked with the students, walking them through each phase of the project, allowing them to make decisions and generate ideas to effectively complete their vision. With the concept, budget, scope, schedule, and marketing complete, the students are now ready to commence “Warriors in Motion”:

– March 21 – Project begins with the erection of a brand new flagpole! Thank you to The National Flag Company for making this happen so quickly!
– March 26 – April 1st – Contractors and Miller-Valentine Construction team complete major work
– April 2 – Construction of two GaGa Dodge Ball pits and a base coat of white paint on the courtyard and tunnel (Miller-Valentine Group Volunteers)
– April – Painting of the courtyard with a custom mural designed using the student’s ideas (Art Academy of Cincinnati)
– April – Painting of the tunnel and finishing assembly of the GaGa Dodge Ball pits. (5th grade students)
– May 5th – REVEAL DAY

When complete, the students with have had hands-on experience in the various stages of construction, the school will benefit from the student’s great ideas, and the business in the community will have fulfilled the dreams of its youngest members…..A win for everyone!

Miller-Valentine Group has donated two-thirds of the resources needed for this endeavor, and has received time and material donations or discounts from the following companies and organizations:

According to Janine Knue and Elizabeth Mangan, Captains of the Adopt A Class team, “Seeing the excitement in the children’s eyes as we get closer and closer to the project completion is priceless. These students need to know that their ideas and hard work are going to leave a legacy for their friends, siblings, and community to enjoy for years to come. We are all anxious to see the finished playground on May 5. Our hope is this project will be the beginning of many Warriors in Motion projects within the community.”

Miller-Valentine Group is committed to being a model corporate citizen in the communities we serve. This is done by supporting local and national organizations that provide much-needed services throughout the community.